The Brazilian Association of the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Industry (ABIHPEC) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) announced an agreement for 2010/2011. The new phase of the Beautycare Brazil program marks the beginning of a differentiated positioning with updated strategies for performing in and strengthening beauty exports by Brazilian companies.

The changes already put into practice include the segmentation of participating companies as per level of preparation for entering or developing in the export market. Six countries will be given priority in the effort: Angola, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Mozambique, Peru and Portugal.

“The choice was based on broad-based research conducted on each market, mainly comparing data such as the growth of imports in the country in recent years and the GDP, as well as the possible openings for each [beauty] product," said João Carlos Basilio da Silva, president, ABIHPEC. "This directed work has already permitted growth in exports, which rose 17% in January 2010 compared to the same period of 2009. In 2009, the result was surprising, and Beautycare Brazil member companies grew exports 15%, compared to a 9 % drop in the entire segment, which was mainly jeopardized by the falling dollar.”

“From the outset, we counted in the participation of entrepreneurs who guided Beautycare Brazil's work and allowed us to limit target markets in accordance with segment needs," said Silvana Gomes, manager of foreign trade, ABIHPEC. "It was a long process that began with a quantitative and qualitative analysis and was finalized by the visit of specialists to studied sites to define the possibility of Brazil’s expansion in the countries.”

“It is a great satisfaction to renew the agreement between ABIHPEC and APEX," said Alessandro Teixeira, president, Apex-Brasil. "In recent years, the project permitted Brazilian products to gain great visibility in international markets. Besides increasing export volume, the project was responsible for expanding international perception that Brazil manufactures differentiated products with added value.”